By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
The United Kingdom (UK), at 4 am on May 17, lifted restrictions on the green list countries and territories as the travellers from the listed 12 countries will not have to isolate upon arrival. They have started implementing a traffic light ranking system for resuming international travel.
Australia, Brunei, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira), Singapore, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha constitute the green list.
The persons returning to England from the above countries still must take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours before departing and a PCR test on or before their second day in England which may be booked in the same way as now though private test providers. They will not need to quarantine unless they receive a positive test result.
Leisure and non-essential business travel to and from the amber and red listed countries will remain to be barred and a mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine will be in place for those permitted to enter England from red countries. Mandatory home quarantine and strict testing requirements will also remain in place for those entering England from the amber listed countries.
The UK officials have planned to introduce a green watchlist of countries that were at risk of moving from green to amber to allow passengers more predictability about which protocol they could be subjected to upon returning. The traffic light lists are set to be reviewed and updated every three weeks.
